Jordon

I'm not sure giving minions access to pyre markers is the best idea. While I agree that they have issues with getting enough Pyre markers early game. I also wouldn't want to have such a messy board filled to the brim with markers because there comes a point when it just gets too difficult to play on. I have the same issue with Mei Feng who can litter the board with a stupid amount of scrap which can eventually take away from the experience IMO. I also don't want to need to have 20+ Pyre markers in order to play Kaeris correctly because that also sucks for new players looking to play Kaeris. I do however like the idea of "spreading fire" as that seems thematic to how fire actually works. One of my big problems with the Fire Branded is that they need fire gamin, Kaeris or the EF in oder to move around markers for them. What if they had a way to move markers on their own. Spreading the flame: At the start of this models activation it may target a Pyre marker within 2". Place a Pyre marker in base contact with the target then discard the target. Any markers touching the Pyre marker are discarded. My second issue is the fact that they take damage from burning despite them requiring it to use. I don't think they should be immune to burning like the gamin. I like the idea of "playing with fire" and how it can be dangerous. However there should also be some benefit as well. Burning both ends: If this model suffers damage from the burning condition it may push 4" Other ideas that might be interesting Pyremancer: Enemy models within 3" treat their burning condition as +1 when resolving the burning condition. Fire Ritual: When an model is killed from the burning condition within 6". Drop a scheme marker in base contact with it before removing it.

Yeah the S.A.S is still a decent enough option. Stat 5 is somewhat offset by "Latch On" which effectively boosts it's attacks up to 6 (and anyone else too). It also is nimble and unimpeded which makes it faster than most other beaters of a comparable cost. Lastly it's a minion which makes it flat out better when you factor in upgrades.

I just feel like the Aionus nerf would have went down so much easier if they had buffed the Talos. The lack of synergy with Talos makes the obliteration keyword feel so small and the hit to Aionus feels deeper than it would otherwise. I think Obliteration is still just fine as a keyword but I really do wish Talos could pull his weight better.

I still think he's fine. At least in my games, I try and keep him out of the action. Pop him out somewhere inconvenient for my opponent and just start drilling. Obviously that will take an extra turn to get it going but it's still good at what it's supposed to be doing. Hopefully with both the SAS and SS Miner tuned back, we'll start seeing more Mecharachnids now. They always seemed decent to me but were always out classed by those two aforementioned models.

So what are peoples take aways from the new strategies and schemes. Are there any standout winner or loser keywords? Will this shift the power within the arcanist factor or is it more or less the same?

I just have a hard time understanding the role Initiates play within a Marcus crew. The card draw is nice - as is being a middle of the line beast to act as a pin cushion for Marcus. However my main concern with them is still that they lack any real identity. They don't really do anything particularly well, or need too much support to push them into a given role. Mutations are too limited and feel wasted on them when compared to other models with more defined purposes. Certainly at 6ss they're better, but I know how they play and they're still not good. Maybe you'd invest in 1 just to act as a bodyguard for Marcus but anything more feels like a trap

The Aionus change makes me sad. Especially since Talos received no buffs and remains the outcast within a Tara crew.

Also worth noting that Pride took a slight nerf in this update. However overall the Crossroad 7 is much improved by this update. I do have a small gripe though. How the hell is a guitar bash a 0" attack? It literally makes no sense that unarmed models have a longer reach than someone swinging a guitar?

What are people's feelings about the changes to the SS miner and S.A.S.? Personally I can still see a lot of value in the miner. Certainly not as powerful as it was but definitely still a valuable model in a good many schemes. I think it's a good change The S.A.S. however got slapped pretty hard. I now think I'll be looking for in keyword beaters over these. Which is probably still a good change overall.

So a bit of a mixed change for Marcus. I've always played it as charge attacks generated by Call of the Wild could not declare triggers but I guess now it's a little more clear. However Initiates are now a point cheaper which makes them a bit more attractive for sure. I still don't really like their role within a Marcus crew however and would have preferred actual rule adjustments rather than a point decrease

It's pretty useful for Sandeep's summoning. Obviously you wouldn't gamble on it, but it could very well save a high card in your hand when burning a stone. Also just in general with concealment/manipulative burning a stone to put you on a strait would put you on a positive next to the EOP. Pretty corner case but not all that uncommon. You really are taking him for Amplify anyway.

My issue with the Fire Branded is the my main issue with the entire Wildfire keyword - which is that you are having to work harder to make things work then most crew have too. I actually feel like the Fire Branded, when loaded up with burning, standing on a pyre marker are quite good. Positives to everything they do both offensively and defensively is great, especially when you start to factor in injured. If you have the mindset of treating them like a sentry turret then you can get some decent results from them. The problem is that you have to really babysit them in order to achieve this. Using the M&SU as a counter, they simply get a bonus just by proximity of other M&SU for a very similar effect. Kaeris and wilfire as a whole are split between using the same resource for both a debuff and support so your having to choose between using pyre markers offensively or defensively. I don't necessarily mind this mechanic if the risk/reward is worthwhile. Tara is a great example where risk/reward works. A high degree of planning and execution is needed but when it is used correctly, it can be extremely powerful. I'm still unsure of whether Kaeris has this balance worked out correctly or not as she's a pretty complex keyword and will require much testing. I've seen her crew do some pretty impressive things. However I've seen it fall completely apart as well. Consistency has been a big issue with Wildfire IMO Back to Fire Branded. They NEED pyre markers or they're garbage. Pyre markers are static, hard to acquire early on, and require planning and timing to get them where you need them. Fire Branded also use burning to do anything of note. Burning is a finite resource which you want, however it also hurts them. So even if you don't take a single hit all game, your still eventually going to need to heal yourself at some point as burning will eventually kill them. I think they're good, I just wish they were easier to use. If promised to the flame reduced to 0, then I feel like they'd be a lot better as then you could stack up to burning +3 without taking any damage from it.

Found an old Avatar Levi model surprisingly. It was pretty funny looking at the old 1st edition rules for it as I find it almost impossible to understand anymore despite actually playing back in 1st. The model itself looks pretty decent but I'll probably replace some parts that don't quite look up to the new sculpt standards. As for trinkets. I'm having a tough time deciding who's getting what. Tara with DMM feels pretty good since she has so many AP. Although at the same time, she doesn't really need it since she can teleport. Companion on the NB looks like a powerful combo with Aionus and Karina both being able to unbury it for a chain activation. Regen on the scion seems obvious but maybe there are better candidates. I guess it's all pretty flexible depending on what you need at a given time. However I feel like NB bomb is likely going to be my go-to first trinket most games.

I'm wondering what gamin do people generally summon/hire for what purpose? I know that it really depends on the opponents crew and whether a particular gamin is a good counter - or if the opposing crew is a hard counter for a given gamin. Or even what card you have to summon with to determine what options you have. Ignoring that for a moment. I'm curious what gamin do people use to fill general purposes? Some seem obvious such as wind gamin to run schemes or metal to hold points. However some are less obvious such as ice and fire. Are some gamin a better fit for academics over others? Are there some that you simply would never summon if you can at all help it? Also which golems are most people hiring, if any? Given their reliance on external resources such as ice pillars, scrap and pyre markers, which is the easiest to "maintain" with Sandeep? Are people even bothering trying to summon them?

I actually think it's quite solid and have even considered it OOK. Yes it requires you to bunch up but the whole academic theme is about overlapping auras so I think it plays into that theme just fine. Also since it's aura is a free action, it's not overly difficult getting the model where it needs to be by walking twice. I don't really know what else you'd expect for a 4ss model but I think it's quite good

The emissary sounds great however I just really hate its look within a Tara crew. Does anyone have any ideas of how to convert something that fits into the obliteration theme a little better?

Great writeup! What would you consider "essential" for a Tara list? I know it's scheme/strat dependant but it sounds like there are a few models that are going to be taken pretty much every time with her

I've started toying around with the idea of a dead outlaw for Tara. Not only does it provide fast but it also provides some ranged support in a crew that's fairly melee oriented. However the main reason to take one is because I have spare death marshals back from M2E when Tara could hire them. They pretty much fit the same astatic.

Okay I know this is not likely a competitive idea but I was trying to think of ways to setup her crew turn 1 as efficiently as possible. Obviously this only makes the most sense in a fully thematic wildfire crew (which is the only way I play). Here is the Rube Goldberg turn 1 to try and maximize the burning support for her crew. Again this is likely not competitive as I'm only thinking about my own activations and not what the opponent is doing. However perhaps there are pieces of this that can be used here and there for those looking to top up their own models with burning. I'm sure there are other optimal actions / models to get this working so I'd love to hear how others typically spend their first turns. It's also very possible that I've misread something, causing this whole idea to crumble. Let me know if any of this sounds illegal. The list - Kaeris + MT - Eternal Flame - 2x Fire Gamin - 2x Fire Branded - Elijah - Fire Golem - Fire Starter Kaeris Turn 1 Hand Requirements: 3+ Ram 5+ Mask / Soulstone 1+ Tome (mid-high is better) / Soulstone 1+ Tome (optional) Deployment: Fire gamin in front roughly 2” apart Elijah in Front in between both gamin Fire Branded right behind the gamin roughly 1.5” apart Fire Golem behind both Fire Branded, in-between them. The important thing is that all of these models should be touchable by a single 50mm marker Kaeris is to to one side of either of the Fire Branded Eternal Flame is on the other side of the other Fire Branded Fire Starter on the front and off to one side of the whole crew off by himself but within 8” of both Fire Branded 1st Activation - Elijah: If you have a mid-low tome. Use Immolate on a friendly model. Since no one has burning, no one will suffer any damage. However the trigger will still go off allowing you to draw a two cards and discard one. Make sure you have a ram. Use his free action to heal and give himself burning +1. The trigger allow him to give everyone within (2) burning +2. This should tag everyone except the fire starter. Walk forward 2nd Activation - Kaeris: Make sure you have a 5+ mask or use a Soulstone to get one. Use her free action to create a pyre roughly 6” away from herself. Using the trigger to place another one at max range. Charge into that pyre marker (but targeting one of the fire gamin) giving her +2 burning (total burning = 4). Make sure you have a tome. If you have another lower card than the tome, don’t relent. Make sure she fails the duel but her trigger states “after resolving” so you’ll be able to drop another pyre as a blast marker. If you can’t force a fail then make sure you use the armour on the gamin to reduce the damage. Either way if you spaced everyone out correctly then you should have tagged both gamin, both fire branded and the golem. Also a bonus if you can flip a tome on the gamin to give Kaeris an additional burning, however its not worth cheating one in. Use Fan the flame (giving her burning +1 due to her standing in the pyre) and push the far most pyre towards the enemy crew. Her last action is pretty open. You can shoot another one of your models if you have another tome to burn. You can fan the flame again on the marker that she is standing on to push it towards your crew or the enemy crew. Or you can simply focus or move up. Either way you should end her activation with burning 6 3rd Activation - Fire Golem As soon as he activates, he’ll give everyone within (2) burning +1. This should tag the eternal flame, both gamin and both fire branded. Use you free action (which will give you burning +1 due to being in pyre marker) to teleport slightly behind Elijah (removing his 1 burning and giving it to the golem. Use flaming tornado which should be able to tag both gamin and the golem. If you positioned Kaeris pyre marker close enough then you may have been able to land in it, giving additional burning. Either way the golem should be sitting on 11-13 burning by the end of its activation. 4th - 5th activation Walk both gamin, be sure to drag the starting marker. The second gamin can walk it even further, gaining burning along the way. Both gamin should be at 10+ burning. 6th activation Use the fire starters “light under their feet” on both fire branded who should have burning +4 each, pushing them 10” up the board and into the pyre markers that the gamin walked up the board. Thus giving them burning +1 in the process. If you went reckless then you can walk forward 7th - 8th activation Fire branded each shoot twice and heal if necessary. They should have positives due to standing in the pyre marker. Eternal flame He can basically go at any point after Kaeris. Double walk and push the far most pyre deep into the enemy crew. End of the turn. Both Fire Branded will end up taking a point of damage from burning if they haven’t used it defensively. However the whole crew should have enough burning to fuel them so you shouldn’t have to worry so much about supporting them from turn 2 onward.

Yeah I imagine they're meant to be paired with Mannequins but even then, they're not really achieving what I would expect for 9ss. The mobility combination is nice but were talking about a performer list where mobility is simply not an issue.

How are people using Showgirls? I really struggle to find their use in a Colette list since mobility is not something Performers typically have issues with. They have a good lure, sure. However I find myself hesitant to use it though because once engaged, Showgirls fall completely apart. They're not particularly fast, they don't hit hard (without a ton of setup anyway) and they're paper thin. I can see maybe 1-2 schemes where they might be interesting but generally as the "core" of a Performer list, they seem pretty weak. They don't even really have any keyword synergy that gives them any sort of edge over Versatile models. To me it seems like a Saboteur is far more useful and disruptive than a Performer. I didn't think they were particularly great in M2E but at least they were a whole lot more interesting then they are now since they could blow up scheme markers and hand out reactivate.

Hey all, just delving into Kaeris for the first time in M3E and I had some questions 1) How many pyre markers should I have? It looks like most games could commonly expect to see 10+ markers a game. 2) What does her keyword excel at and where does it struggle? 3) Are there any tricks/combos that aren't obvious. 4) What and where should I be putting my upgrades. 5) Does Kaeris crews burn (excuse the pun) through many Soulstones? Thanks!

After playing McCabe a few games, I really notice how much more clunky mutations are from artifacts. I don't want to de-rail the conversation from Initiates because I also think they are overcosted and bring very little of what is actually needed in a Marcus crew. However I will say that I feel like Mutations in general probably need a rework in order to make the rest of the crew work more optimally. As others have pointed out, not having a way to pitch the upgrade sucks so bad. McCabes upgrades have the ability to toss the upgrade on the actual upgrade. If Adaptive Evolution was simply another built in ability on the actual upgrade, it would free up a ton of room and work universally on all chimera. The other thing I noticed is how amazing or useless his mutations are depending on the model they are attached too. This may seem obvious, but I often find it so difficult to put anything on a moleman. Onslaught on a moleman is still pretty trash, but onslaught on a Cerberus is fantastic. So why am I bothering putting good upgrades on crap models. Again McCabe does this better but giving full actions instead of triggers or stat boosts. This gives all his models the same ability regardless of who has it. Maybe it doesn't make sense on all models but it at least gives you reason to put things on chaff models and have them still contribute. The initiates are simply in an awkward spot IMO. They are sort of support but also sort of a beater, however the two don't particularly mesh well together. They don't often get to benefit from both support/beater and they don't pull their weight when looking at either of these in isolation. They are expensive models in an already top heavy keyword. I don't really want another beater, Marcus is really lacking in everything OTHER than a melee beater role. I would much rather see them pushed more into the support/scheme role. Also as a side note. I would like to put it out there to get the "beast" keyword on the Poison Gamin. Arcanist Marcus is desperate for a cheap general purpose model such as this. Molemen are trash in anything other than scheming. Besides Neverborn has so many more options available compared to Arcanists. I think this would go a long way for him

Thinking a bit of the 7 lately. I feel like Envy, Wrath or Pride make the best leaders. Both Arcanist and Outcast upgrades are pretty weak for the crossroad (arcanists mostly can only use 2 and one of which has a redundant ability) However both magical training and servant of dark powers are pretty solid. Envy in particular is pretty nasty as a leader. With magical training and a mobile toolkit, you can make him pretty crazy. You can use the toolkit to give shielded +1 and focused +1. So with magical training, your looking at armour +2 and shielded +2. Activating next to a crossroad and using Organ music on himself, he's gaining three focused shots a turn. That's a pretty sweet package. Pride as leader is cool because he's just so damn powerful. He can obliterate the opponents hand/models using his song. However I find outcasts have some interesting model choices. For example the Midnight Stalker who is 8ss and just fits with the 7. He can gain the crossroad keyword and can hand out adversary and can act as a pretty annoying speed bump. I also really like the Emissary as I feel like it fills a pretty obvious gap with the crossroad crew. Wrath is a decent enough beater with 3ap. I personally really like the effigy's aura and since the crossroad 7 like to bubble, you can get some decent milage from it. I also feel like the Neverborn upgrades are all a decent fit within the crew.

"Immunity" is one of those ill defined words that mean different things to different people. So in the past I've been using it remove the burning immunity from fire gamin and allow healing. However I've since stopped because RAW the ability seems to work otherwise. Models which can gain the condition but are not affected by the damage (such as fire gamin and shenlong) are not affected by "combustible mixture". Since it says they are not technically "immune" to gaining the condition - just the damage. It doesn't really apply to Carlos since he has nothing that prevents him gaining burning condition - he just heals if you have his upgrade and a card.